Katie and Richard Coyne couldn’t believe their eyes when they were hit with the astronomical British Gas energy bill, and say they were ignored by customer service
A couple who live in a one-bedroom home were horrified when they received a one-month energy bill for a whopping £57,000.
Katie Coyne, 60, and her husband Richard, 64, were told they had just a matter of weeks to pay off the eye-watering bill from their provider British Gas. Despite their annual estimate being just £2,150, it said they’d racked up the hefty charge on their gas and electric in a single month of usage.
In a bid to get to the bottom of the alarming bill, Richard had to spend countless lunch breaks trying to get through to a customer services agent – with no success. They lived in fear of turning any devices on in their home in Devizes, Wiltshire, for weeks, worried about adding to the astronomical sum.
“We have a smart meter, so they should have accurate readings, but all our bills say they are estimates – it doesn’t make sense,” Katie said.
“We just pay them £180 a month because we think that’s about right and we don’t want to get into debt, but our bills don’t make sense at all. Sometimes they say we owe them and sometimes they say they owe us. This makes you feel so small – like you don’t count for anything.”
Katie, a retired cleaner and youth worker, and Richard, a machine operative on a building site, have rented their home from a housing association for 24 years. Three and a half years ago, central heating with a gas boiler was installed to replace their storage heaters.
Over the two decades, they’ve had various energy companies supply the property but two years ago, switched to British Gas and had a smart meter fitted. Their bills, for electricity and gas, ranged from £62 to £201 last year, they said.
Just two months ago, the meter was checked by an engineer and passed. But then they were hit with the bill for £57,282.29 on February 19.
Katie said: “I opened it and did a double take: I thought ‘you’re having a laugh!'” Richard couldn’t get through to an adviser on the phone, despite multiple attempts he says.
The couple emailed the company CEO but heard nothing back. They even have priority status with the energy provider because of Katie’s health. She said: “It’s impossible to speak to someone. They’re just hiding behind their screens.
“If we do get through they ask us to email and they say it will be sorted but it isn’t. We’ve made six or seven official complaints. I’ve been at my wit’s end with this. I’m feeling really desperate about it. And we deserve to be compensated for all the stress and lost lunch breaks.
“We’re getting through this because we have each other but I worry that it could happen to someone vulnerable and alone. I’m just really angry that we’re being ignored. They don’t seem to care about the impact on someone’s mental state.
“We have to watch every penny. I just hope and pray that government and big corporations realise soon that they need people like us or everything will fold eventually.”
Now finally, after being approached for comment, the energy provider confirmed the bill was a mistake. Katie said: “It’s completely crazy – I’m beyond livid. They say they’re sorry but that doesn’t work anymore. It’s just a joke.”
A British Gas spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry about this mistake, we’ve confirmed to Mrs Coyne that the bill was clearly incorrect. She wasn’t charged, we cancelled the bill on the same day and took no payment. We will send her an updated bill shortly.”
